Iraqi's sole defense: Blind rage

Shoes were thrown at Bush to restore dignity, court told

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-President George W. Bush made an impassioned plea for clemency on the first day of his trial Thursday, saying he had been blinded with rage when he saw Bush smiling and joking with the Iraqi prime minister during a news conference.

"I was trying to restore the dignity of Iraqis in any possible way short of using weapons," Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, told the court in his first public comments on the Dec. 14 incident, which transformed him overnight into a hero across the Arab world.

Zeidi is charged with assaulting a visiting foreign guest, a crime that carries a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment. But members of his 22-strong defense team hope to portray the case as a test of Iraq's democratic freedoms and to reduce the charge to a lesser one.

Zeidi insisted he acted on impulse after listening to Bush praise the "achievements" made in Iraq.

"While he was talking I was looking at all his achievements," he said. "More than a million killed, the destruction and humiliation of mosques, violations against Iraqi women, attacking Iraqis every day and every hour.

"A whole people are saddened because of his policy, and he was talking with a smile on his face. So I reacted to this feeling by throwing my shoes. ... It was spontaneous," he said.

The judge appears to be trying to determine whether the shoe-throwing was a premeditated act, which could carry a harsher penalty, defense attorneys said.

Zeidi also argued that Bush could not be considered either a guest, because his forces occupied Iraq uninvited, or an official visitor, because the trip was not announced in advance.

The judge adjourned the trial until March 12, pending a request to the prime minister's office to clarify whether Bush's visit was in fact "official or unofficial."

If the visit is deemed unofficial, then the defense team hopes the charge against Zeidi can be reduced to one of "attempted assault without harm," which typically carries only a fine. If the visit was official, the defense aims to persuade the judge to reduce the charge to "insulting a foreign guest," which carries a maximum 2-year penalty.

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Arabian nightmares: Liz Sly has met scores of ordinary Iraqis whose lives have been changed irrevocably by violence. She shares their stories at chicagotribune.com/baghdadstories